Great Grandpa Rasmussen

Alan's Grandpa, Earl W Rasmussen, passed away on April 15th, just three weeks shy of his 96th birthday. He had been a widow for 9.5 years and was in poor health so his funeral wasn't terribly sad for most of us. In fact, ALL of Alan's siblings and most of his cousins were able to be there so it was a nice, mini-reunion! The funeral was in Twin Falls, ID because that's where Grandpa Earl had lived for the past few years. He had lived with his son and daughter-in-law, Brent and Marilyn, until about a year ago when he required more care than they could provide and moved into a nursery home. Earl was buried next to his wife Vauna in Portland.

It was a very quick trip for us. We couldn't leave until about 4:30 pm on Friday afternoon. With rush-hour traffic, we didn't get to Geoff's house near Boise until almost midnight. Thankfully for us, the funeral didn't start until noon on Saturday so we didn't have to get up too early to drive the final 2.5 hours to Twin Falls. We spent Saturday night at Geoff's house too and then drove back home after Sacrament Meeting on Sunday morning.

Earl and Vauna Rasmussen left an amazing legacy! They had four children and their descendants total over 90 right now. I didn't know Earl very well, but I will always remember him as a kindhearted man who had a great sense of humor. He was always cracking jokes.

I loved hearing stories about Earl's life during the funeral. My favorite story is one I had heard before, but had forgotten. Not long after Early and Vauna were married in 1941, Earl's arm was ripped almost completely off in an accident at the sawmill where he worked. Doctor's were miraculously able to reattach and save his arm. After a 2-year-long recovery, Earl had regained feeling and some use of the arm, but he was unable to straighten it completely. Earl was drafted into WW II three times, but was rejected each time because of his crooked arm. A few years later, Earl had a family to support and 50 acres of land to farm. He knew he needed two good arms so he came up with his own plan to straighten the injured arm. He began carrying a heavy bucket of rocks in that hand while he worked around the farm. Slowly, the arm straightened out and he regained full use of it. I love this legacy of grit and determination!

It was wonderful to learn more about this amazing man and to see so much family even for just a few hours. These first four pictures are from a reunion in Twin Falls last summer. That was the last time we saw Earl alive. 

Darwin, Debbie, and Earl:

Alan, Eric, and Earl:

Earl with Darwin's family:

Earl with many of his descendants:

The rest of these pictures are from the day of the funeral. I was so impressed with those who traveled thousands of miles at great sacrifice to be there! I'm so grateful for the influence Earl had on Alan both directly and indirectly through Darwin. He was a great man who knew what it meant to work hard, to sacrifice, to laugh, and to love. I look forward to the day I can hear his jokes again.

April

We all enjoyed spending a little more time outside as it warmed up in April. Mason learned how to search for bugs and other slimy things. He has no fear of getting dirty. Haha! This picture definitely wins as my favorite of the month. Mason has such a fun personality!

We made a blanket tent for the boy's to watch General Conference in on Saturday. It kept Mason happy for about one talk. Haha! He really has gotten much better and waiting and paying attention though.

The 5th graders at Edy Ridge get to participate in the Wolf Challenge every spring. They are divided into four teams of mixed classes and compete in 10 different challenges. Some of them were common things like tug-of-war and a tire race, but most of them were one-of-a-kind games like "Swamp Monster," "Fluffy Friends Under the Bridge," and "Knee Boarding." The kids got really into it and it was fun to watch. Spencer's team didn't win, but I think it was still one of his favorite activities from 5th grade.

Mason's hair is very thick and he sometimes wakes up with awesome bed head. The front of his hair that crowns his forehead has started curling the last six months or so. It's always a challenge for hairstylists to get it to lay flat.

Spencer participated in his first piano festival. It was held at the Portland Piano Company in northeast Portland. He had to preform two memorized pieces and was then scored on a 5-point scale. He was nervous but received a Supreme rating! That meant he also earned five gold stars. Students can earn a gold cup trophy when they have earned 15 stars. Good job Spencer!

Wrestling after Church:

We celebrated Grandma and Grandpa Larsen's 85th birthdays together in April! I made a Texas sheet cake because that's Grandpa's favorite. It's always so nice to see them!

Spencer also participated in his first science fair. He decided to research which liquids were absorbed the best by paper towels. I don't know how he came up with that idea, but he was excited about it and did almost everything on his own. He compared the absorption of water, Sprite, and buttermilk.

Easter was on April 21st this year. We decided to try a new method of coloring eggs. I bought a kit for mixing the die into small bags of dry rice. After the rice was all colored, you added the egg and just shook the bag until the egg was colored. I liked it because it was easier, faster, and less messy. Spencer and Mason didn't love it though so we'll probably go back to the usual vinegar cups next spring.

The Easter Bunny visited our back yard!

Handsome boys in matching ties for Easter:

These are the 11-year-old pictures I took of Spencer. They turned out alright, but I don't love them and will probably make him redo them. Luckily, he's a good sport about it.

Spencer's 3rd and final Pinewood Derby. I don't know why I didn't get a close-up of his car. Dad and Grandpa Rasmussen helped him with it this year. I think he got 3rd place and was happy with that. Mason was mostly happy to eat popcorn and drink punch during the races. The Pinewood Derby has probably been Spencer's favorite Cub Scout activity.

Spencer Turns 11!

Spencer was excited that his birthday fell on a Saturday this year because it meant that he got to have his party on his actual birthday. Alan had to time a half marathon in the morning so the Spencer's festivities had to wait until he got home in the early afternoon. Luckily, Spencer's best buddy has a birthday the very same day and Spencer got to go to his party in the morning.

Spencer woke up in a good mood! He doesn't usually let Mason go in his bed. These two seem to get along best when their both being goofballs.

Spencer was happy with the book, game, Legos, quarter map, and large world map he got from Alan, Mason, and I.

I was super happy that Spencer chose to invite a few friends to do arcades and bowling at Big Al's for his party this year. SO much easier than planning a whole party at our house! We scheduled the party to go from 3-6, but could have easily used an extra hour. Remember that for next time!

Since there was a wait for bowling, we did arcades first. Spencer's favorite is the basketball game.

Mason tried skee ball, but couldn't roll the ball hard enough to make it into any money cups.

I thought the bowling part of the party was better than the arcades because the boys were doing it all together instead of playing separate games. I think they all had a lot of fun.

Mason and I left Big Al's early to pick up and bake the pizza for dinner. Another easy choice for this party - thanks Spencer! Spencer opened his gifts while I finished baking the pizza. He got some $ and two sets of Pokemon cards. I didn't even know Spencer had an interest in Pokemon until his party! I guess they trade cards before school starts every morning.

Spencer wanted a chocolate cake with white frosting this year. I guess he has outgrown themed cakes. I made a box mix cake this year so Spencer's friend with a dairy allergy could eat it. (My from-scratch chocolate cake recipe is WAY better. I didn't even taste this one, but it was dry and crumbly and went bad in our fridge before anyone wanted to finish it.)

After all of the friends left, Spencer ended his birthday with a game of knock-out against Dad. I think that's their favorite thing to do together these days. It's fun to watch them. It turned out to be a great birthday for Spencer and he went to bed happy.

I can't say enough about how great this kid is! He seriously makes parenting so easy and I'm crossing my fingers that he will stay that way through middle and high school. Spencer is responsible, mature, kind, hard working, obedient, and truly wants to be good. He does his best in his school work, piano, and sports. He is almost always happy and is a great sport. We don't get to read together as much anymore, but I do read scriptures and discuss "Come, Follow Me" with Spencer almost every night. We have good discussions and watching his testimony grow brings Alan and I great joy. School comes easily for Spencer and we know that combined with his strong, optimistic, kind personality will take him far in life.

Current favorites: school, reading fantasy books, math, shooting baskets in the driveway, Legos, playing and watching sports, cold cereal, oranges, carrot sticks, white chili, his tall OBOB socks from 2018 (They have pictures of 16 books on them. Spencer knows they will probably only be washed one day a week so he saves them for a special day. Haha!)

Not so favorites: tomatoes, roasted veggies, being bugged by Mason when he wants some alone time, chores, not having enough free time after school.

We feel so blessed to have Spencer in our family. He is a wonderful son, brother, and friend. We love you Spencer!